Part 2
“Young Master, the lantern market is ending soon, and the curfew is approaching. Do you have a place to stay?”
It was a servant boy dressed in green cloth, asking if he had lodgings.
Ying Xi thought about it; he had made a mistake.
He had been so focused on admiring the lantern festival and feeling the changes brought by the Charm points that he forgot to look for his subordinates to regroup. Coupled with his wandering through the market, Yu Jing wouldn’t dare make a scene searching for him.
The dignified Emperor was actually about to sleep on the street.
Ying Xi asked, “Do you have a good place to recommend?”
Perhaps this was also a follower attracted by the System after the Charm increase.
If so, this was an opportunity. Ying Xi inquired.
The servant boy bowed even more respectfully, repeatedly saying, “Yes, yes, yes. The place this lowly one recommends is the best there is. Please follow me, please follow me…”
While making polite small talk, the servant boy led Ying Xi deep into the Chang’an market district, toward several high-rise buildings lit with lamps.
Chang’an’s market had both official and private inns, all established for traveling merchants and visitors.
It was late, so staying the night was fine. Although he had no silver, Ying Xi reasoned that he still had accessories on his person, each a precious tribute from various regions.
Therefore, the Emperor allowed himself to continue observing the people’s sentiments away from the palace.
In this life, Ying Xi found it surprisingly easy to break through any psychological barriers, so he followed along.
The servant boy pushed open a door. The two entered the establishment through the back door. “Young Master, please.”
Entering through the back, they first arrived at a courtyard. It wasn’t large, but clotheslines crisscrossed above like a spiderweb. Clothes fluttered on the lines in the night breeze like flags.
Ying Xi noticed that these clothes were brand new and of superior quality, distinct from those of the city’s commoners. Rich colors and a lack of patches were their uniform characteristics.
This aroused Ying Xi’s suspicion.
He had clearly seen many commoners in the Imperial City wearing ragged clothes that afternoon. Yet this was an inn; it was impossible that commoners coming to the capital for business could all afford to wear silk and satin.
Ying Xi slowed his pace.
But he was already inside, and retreating wasn’t easy. He smelled the ambiguous scent of cosmetic powder floating in the corridor.
Through the windows lining the corridor, Ying Xi vaguely heard the sound of furniture shaking, along with the mixed, heavy breathing of men and youths.
So this was the downside brought about by the sudden spike in Charm, Ying Xi thought. He had likely become a commodity that could be sold for a high price, targeted as prey for those who favored men.
Ying Xi hooked his lips in a mocking smile.
Connecting the dots from his last conversation with his host, knowing Ying Xi was alone outside, and hearing some ear-heating noises, Sweet Tub asked with concern: “Is Your Majesty okay?”
“I am in a ‘Huan Guan’,” Ying Xi added calmly. “A brothel.”
The Emperor’s excessive calmness struck the System dumb.
It took a while for Sweet Tub to react, its pitch rising: “That’s bad! Your Majesty, run away quickly!”
The Dating System guided users to have emotional exchanges with characters; physical exchanges without feelings were R18. Sweet Tub boycotted that.
But it was just code without a physical form. Even if it was anxious, it couldn’t actually do anything for Ying Xi.
On the contrary, Ying Xi asked with even more composure, “Can you alter other stats? Like the Charm points.”
Sweet Tub asked blankly, “What stats does Your Majesty want to adjust?”
Ying Xi glanced at the servant boy and several tortoise-shell-wearing bouncers passing in the corridor, saying with disdain, “For example, make Me as capable of fighting as Xie Qianli.”
“Sorry,” the System expressed regret. “I am only responsible for two stats: one is Charm, the other is Favorability.”
The Dating System was not a Combat System.
Even if some romances involved battles, the core was never fighting.
The System shattered Ying Xi’s dream of fighting a thousand enemies single-handedly.
Sweet Tub gave up on itself: “If… if…” It weakly tried to salvage the situation: “If Your Majesty really cannot escape and is about to be defiled, I can provide items to protect Your Majesty’s experience and health.”
Ying Xi pinched the bridge of his nose, not comforted in the slightest.
Walking through the series of ornate doors, with the doors behind him closing one by one, Ying Xi knew clearly that relying on his physical strength alone, he couldn’t force his way out.
“What items do you have?” Ying Xi asked.
Unexpectedly, the System revitalized, getting so excited its voice cracked: “I-I-I have every item imaginable! Aphrodisiacs for atmosphere, training whips, candles, collars, beads, potent lust sprays, sheep-intestine condoms, jade phalluses, dildos… Does Your Majesty actually prefer ‘doing’ first and falling in ‘love’ later?”
The Emperor maintained his final shred of dignity and took a deep breath.
The Emperor said, “I’ll take that spray.”
The situation was urgent; he had reached the end of the corridor.
The room at the very end of the hall had door frames decorated differently from the rest, appearing unusually extravagant and luxurious—clearly a gold nest for squandering money.
Ying Xi found himself holding a spray bottle filled with pink liquid.
Great Qin had never seen such a product, but that didn’t stop Ying Xi from figuring out at a glance that he needed to press down on the pump at the top of the nozzle.
At this moment, the human trafficker posing as an inn waiter let a cold light of greed burst from his seemingly simple eyes. He opened the room door; it was pitch black inside, impossible to see clearly.
unable to suppress the joy of the impending reward, the trafficker rubbed his hands and said to Ying Xi, “Young Master, inside is the guest room this lowly one has meticulously prepared for you. Rest for a while, don’t lock the door. Don’t worry if you hear noise later; it will be the staff delivering hot water and food.”
“Mm.”
The trafficker’s face was half-dissolved in shadow, so he completely failed to see that Ying Xi had long seen through his intentions. Behind him, Ying Xi’s expression was incomparably majestic and cold.
Crossing the threshold, the moment one foot left the ground, the trafficker suddenly lost his balance—Ying Xi kicked him viciously in the back!
“Augh!”
A scream rang through the room as the trafficker ate dirt!
Then, a mist sprayed down overwhelmingly. The overly dense, fragrant fog shrouded the trafficker from head to toe. He tried to struggle up, but his limbs had already gone soft.
Uncontrollable heat and thirst caused the trafficker to drool. He tore at his own clothes with both hands, his vision becoming increasingly blurred. He could only look up at Ying Xi’s chin, the light from behind the Emperor plating his silhouette in gold dust.
The door was locked from the outside!
Clang.
This golden room was located in a secluded spot and was well soundproofed; no one noticed the disturbance.
Ying Xi covered his nose with his sleeve and emptied the entire bottle of potent aphrodisiac in the corridor, ensuring that the scoundrels selling him and buying him would both have an unforgettable night before he was satisfied.
The teenage Emperor let out an inadvertent sneer.
Disposing of the spray bottle casually, he clasped his hands behind his back and retraced his steps, exiting the corridor.
To sneak out, he needed to be more composed; he had to look like a buyer.
At this moment, the one lacking composure was the System.
Ying Xi’s mind was filled with Sweet Tub’s screams: “—Ahhh! Your Majesty, you are so handsome! I’m so excited! Emperor Receiver (Shou)! I ship it! I ship it!!!”
Headache-inducing noise, and incomprehensible words. Ying Xi frowned.
Just as he reached the final turn to exit the brothel, with escape in sight, Ying Xi relaxed slightly.
But then he heard it—from a direction he hadn’t taken, inside a tightly closed room, someone was sobbing in a low, husky voice. It was a boy, sounding desperate.
“Save me… someone save me, I don’t want to be sold here…”
“Brother, do you know I’m here? Brother?”
Ying Xi should have left quickly.
But after a moment of hesitation, he chose to stop.
He leaned in, extending a finger to poke a hole in the paper window.
His vision revealed the silhouette of a person in thin clothes, hugging their knees in the corner, face buried in their legs, voice trembling to the extreme.
Ying Xi pursed his lips. The sense of responsibility engraved in his instincts made it impossible for him to ignore the suffering of his subjects. Ying Xi’s brow lowered; he had an idea, so he went over to push the door.
Unexpectedly, the moment the door panels opened, Ying Xi stepped into empty air, his entire body suddenly losing gravity!
He was grabbed by the wrist and yanked abruptly into the arms of the “distressed courtesan” inside the room. The originally suppressed sobbing in the room instantly turned into piercing, mocking laughter.
Where was the distressed courtesan? It was clearly a man with incredibly fast reflexes.
Following that, Ying Xi’s hands were pinned behind his back by the other party. The numbness and pain from his tendons caused Ying Xi to frown instantly.
He had been captured.
He recognized this person!
Just moments ago, they had met by chance in the lantern market. Prince Yong licked Ying Xi’s earlobe, sending a numbing sensation shooting up his spine. Ying Xi was ticklish, and his teeth felt soft.
He suppressed his reaction, controlling his posture and emotions.
This brother of his had always been absurd and unpredictable. Now, even wearing the semi-transparent clothes of a brothel courtesan with his chest half-exposed, Prince Yong showed no shame, taking pleasure in provoking the Emperor of Great Qin.
“I anticipated that a normal trap wouldn’t be able to handle Your Majesty, so I decided to host you personally. Come, quickly redeem your subject-brother from the dust, Royal Brother.”
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